Morocco Day 4

Today we visited a local orphanage and shelter and spent the day with the children and families. Plenty of work was done by all: we were painting gates, clearing wooded areas and planting trees. The rest of the day was spent face painting, playing football and dancing to an eclectic mix of music, which everybody loved. Our students had a fantastic day, which ended with handing out piles of donated toys and clothes that we brought with us. 

Morocco Day 2

Watching Morocco play football in Morocco turned out to be quite an experience! We found a nearby cafe/restaurant and joined the locals in cheering on the national team who put up a brilliant fight against Spain. The biggest difference was everybody applauding after every play, which is something that English football could do with!

This morning we had a 3 hour coach journey to Casablanca, followed by a tour of the King Hassan II mosque which is the 3rd biggest Islamic mosque in the world. It only took 6 years to build, and comes complete with underfloor heating and a retractable roof (which opens a lot faster than Centre Court at Wimbledon does...). 

Back to the hotel to settle in and test out the pool. A visit to an orphanage awaits us tomorrow. 

Morocco Day 1 and 2

Day 2

After a safe arrival and quick explore of Marrakech yesterday, we spent today fully discovering the souk in the Medina. Thriving markets and twisting pathways led us past the monkey tamers and snake charmers to a bakery where locals took their own loaves to be baked, a Herbalist who showed us countless different types of spice, and a museum built from old hammam baths. 

Tomorrow we leave Marrakech for 2 days in Casablanca, but first we must partake in the ultimate cultural experience - watching a Morocco World Cup match in Morocco!

Morocco - Day 5

Today we went to a local home for orphaned and abandoned children just outside Casablanca. We sanded and painted the playground walls, raked the garden and did some litter picking on the nearby beach to help them. We also gave the children food, played football, drew and painted with the children and practised our French to communicate with them. We brought with us lots of toys, stationery and clothes to give to the children as presents. It was really emotional to see their reactions to their gifts and we were all very emotional when it came time to leave. Such a brilliant day! 

Morocco - Day 4

Latymerians have spent the morning playing with local children on the beach. Luke got buried in sand, Clodagh and Rachel managed to thrash the five year old locals at football and Clara bought her body weight in dates!

Morocco - Day 3

Today we travelled to Casablanca on the coast and visited the Mosque Hassan II which has the largest minaret in the world and is the world's third largest mosque. 

After some experimental henna tattoos and a wander around the square it was back to the hotel pool and food. 

Toby set the record for the most amount of water melon eaten at supper - photo attached of him on his 4th helping!

Morocco - Day 1

After walking through the Souk this morning we watched bread being made.. And after all that walking, it was time to relax in the hotel pool!

Our guide Abdul took us to the Madrasa Ben Youssef, an 11th century university, full of beautiful carvings and mosaic tiles. After the university we wandered through the souk to a herbalist who taught us all about Moroccan spices, we smelt Ras Al Hanout, Cinnamon, Amber, Jasmine and left with armfuls of gifts to bring home.  In the afternoon we went to eat at Le Jardin Majorelle, a garden curated by Yves Saint Laurent and where his ashes are buried. It was a chance to see some amazing indigenous plants and enjoy the calm away from the medina.

Morocco - Day 4

Today students spent the day volunteering at a school in the village of Lamzaya. They helped with gardening , classroom painting, and concrete laying, among other things.

It was lovely to see everyone getting on so well with the children (despite the language barrier). They played games, painted faces, danced and there were some tears when we had to leave.

Next we visited the beautiful town of Almina and had a guided tour from some of the teachers from the school. Then back to the hotel in Tangiers for dinner and a well deserved rest. 

Morocco - Day 3

Downtime by the hotel pool..

Morocco - Day 1

We arrived safe and sound in beautiful Morocco on Sunday evening and were taken to our accommodation at the gorgeous Hotel Barcelo.

We had a wonderful first day in Fez - two local tour guides showed us a ceramic workshop, after which we delved deep into the ancient Medina where we explored the winding alleys and historical sites. 

We saw the site of The University of al-Qarawiyyin (200 years older than Oxford), visited a Madrasa (Muslim school/education centre) and ate an amazing lunch! 

We also visited a (slightly smelly) Tannery - the job the workers do here has been ranked the third hardest job in the world by National Geographic. 

A fascinating day that left us with just time for a refreshing dip in the pool when we got back to the hotel.

Round up from Morocco

Review of 2015 Morocco Trip

Day 1 

After a three and a half hour flight we finally arrived at the airport in Marrakech where we then went to settle in at the hotel Diwane. Abduhl, the guide showed us around Jamal square where we had a drink at a cafe, overlooking the snake charmers, monkeys and the local dancers.

Day 2

The next morning we were taken on a tour around the city and visited the beautiful 16th century Madrassa museum. The souks contained various different materials and we were able to learn the fascinating ways they were all made, for example, the wool, silk, metal making and wood crafting. 

Before the three hour bus journey to Essaouria we got to go to the pool at the hotel for a refreshing swim. Once we had arrived at the hotel in Essaouria which had a picturesque view of the sandy beach we dipped in for a swim. After being dried and dressed we had some traditional Moroccan dishes for dinner. As an evening activity we took a cultural promenade through the city centre and each had a chilled ice cream to finish the day off before going to bed. 

Day 3

We woke up early for breakfast and started our day by buying packed lunch at the supermarket to go help a village 30 miles from the city. We had to walk down a run down path for 10 minutes before arriving. This day was the most amazing experience. We first got to sing, play and talk to the pre school children and teachers who worked at the school we were visiting. All of them were friendly and welcomed us to build them gardens and paint their school, before which we had to sand it. They were extremely thankful and appreciative when we gave each of them a bag filled with toys, stationary, and clothes for their whole family. We all enjoyed helping their community. After this we once again got to go for a swim in the cooling Atlantic sea before dinner and another ice cream.

Day 4

After saving our money from the first days we walked through the shops in Medina to buy some souvenirs. We then had a cultural lunch where we ate kebabs. At the hotel we cooled off and relaxed by the pool. We then went dinner at the hotel which was very tasty. After dinner a local henna lady came to do henna tattoos for the girls. 

Day 5

In the morning we went for a camel ride in a palmerie before heading to the souks for some shopping. We had lunch at a local cafe before heading back to the airport.